Tall, Tall Mountain
Tall, Tall Mountain is the twelfth main stage in Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64 and its remake Super Mario 64 DS for the Nintendo DS. It is one of the largest structures in the game, and will have Mario traversing to the top of it in many missions. The painting to the course is located in the foyer of the castle's second floor opposite the painting to Wet-Dry World. It is the smallest painting that leads into a course. It features a high mountain with all kinds of obstacles on the way to the top. The hat stealing monkey Ukiki is featured here as well as the blowing cloud enemy named Fwoosh. The dangerous aspect of the level is that almost the entire path around the mountain is thin and near a cliff face. Like its painting, also located on the second story of the castle, Tall, Tall Mountain is surrounded by Giant Mushrooms, one of which has a Power Star. The top of the mountain has a flat surface and railing, and is next to a waterfall that leads to the start of the level. This is the only main course in the DS version that has neither a Switch Star nor Silver Stars. Levels The level titles and numbers correspond to the original Super Mario 64 unless otherwise noted. Star 1: Scale the Mountain To get this Star, Mario must climb to the top of the mountain. He will begin by going right of the small waterfall at the start of the level and go across two large gaps. If he falls through the first gap, he will still land on a lower part of the mountain and be able to climb up the side, but the second gap leads into the abyss. Mario will then be running along the edge of the mountain with mMshroom platforms on his left until he finds a fork-in-the-road around the Monty Moles. *On the first way, Mario can go left and up the wall. Then at the top, go right and follow along the side of the mountain. At some point, he will end up near some Goombas in a small grassy area and meet up at the end of the other path of the fork. *On the second way, Mario will go forward and cross a few enemies. Then he will cross a plank leading to an Ukiki that can steal his hat if he picks it up. Mario will have to move to the right and cross the log and make it roll to the next area of land (like in the Lethal Lava Land Star, Red-Hot Log Rolling). Mario will then go around the perimeter of the mountain (while avoiding giant balls rolling down) and come up to the Goombas on a grassy area. Mario will then travel around the edge of the mountain. Later, he will have to long jump across a long waterfall which contains a later mission and balance across a thin walkway. After that, Mario must simply make his way up and grab the Star. Star 2: Mystery of the Monkey Cage To acquire this Star, Mario must again trek to the top of the mountain, or hitch a ride with Hoot the Owl, where there will be an Ukiki. Mario must catch it, and, when prompted, let him go. Mario must then follow it to a cage containing a Star. The Ukiki will break the cage, and the star will fall. Mario must head back to the area where the other Ukiki is to get it. In the DS version, Luigi and Wario must do the same, but Yoshi can eat it. Star 3: Scary 'Shrooms, Red Coins To get this Star, Mario must find the Mushroom platform area where the straight-stemmed Mushrooms are at the beginning of the stage and carefully collect all the Red Coins there. He must then carry on slightly further around the mountain to the area with the Monty Moles, and find the rest of the Red Coins there. They are scattered along the wall with rock platforms to reach them. After all the Coins are collected, the Star will then appear on the Star Marker across that area on a Giant Mushroom. Star 4: Mysterious Mountainside To acquire this Star, Mario must find the entrance to a secret slide. It is near the top of the mountain by a cloud enemy, Fwoosh (who can blow Mario off the mountain). If Mario walks up to the wall, it may move a little like a painting would. He should jump into it and get into the level. Mario will find himself in a building with a large slide on it. This slide is noticeably more difficult than the The Princess's Secret Slide and has many curves and jumps. Also, near the beginning is a fork-in-the-road, and if Mario chooses the wrong road, he will fall off the slide and lose a life. At the end of the slide, Mario will go through a hole that will lead him to the Star that is located behind a mesh on the side of the mountain. If Mario loses a life from falling off the slide and returns to Tall, Tall Mountain through the painting, he would automatically end up at the start of the slide again, thus not requiring him to go all the way up the mountain from the start, unless he lost all his lives. It is possible for the player to skip the slide by jumping and then kicking in the air while pushing the stick backwards the direction Mario is facing to get the Star. Nintendo tried to prevent this in the DS version, but it is still possible to do it using Luigi's invisibility power. Star 5 (N64) / 7 (DS): Breathtaking View from (the) Bridge This Star is located a fair way up the mountain, behind the waterfall at the spot after the Fwoosh is found. To access it, Mario can either long-jump to it, or use the Switch further up the mountainside past the grassy area with Goombas on it to create some wooden platforms to the falls. Mario must quickly run before the platforms disappear and grab the Star. In Super Mario 64 DS, the Star is under a Black Brick that only Wario can break. The switch was also removed, and a brown, wooden bridge can easily let Wario walk to the Black Brick. This mission was also moved to the seventh Star in the DS version. Also, this mission was originally known under the slightly shorter title Breathtaking View from Bridge in the original game, whereas it is known as Breathtaking View from the Bridge in the DS version. Star 6 (N64) / 5 (DS): Blast to the Lonely Mushroom This Star is situated on a large, isolated Mushroom, away from the mountain. It can be accessed five ways. Shortcuts involve long-jumping from the top of the mountain, jumping on a Fly Guy and twirling onto the Mushroom, using Hoot the Owl, blasting from the cannon, and using the Wing Cap. The cannon is under the island that can be reached by a secret portal on one of the smaller Mushroom platforms. The portal will take Mario near a very thin walkway for him cross. When he gets to the end of the walkway, the cannon will be in front of him. Mario must carefully aim and grab the Star in mid-air. Mario can also get to the mushroom, with the Wing Cap. In the DS remake, the player can also use Luigi's backflip and Yoshi's flutter-jump from the top. In addition, the path is less narrow than in the original version. This Star was also moved to Star 5. Star 6 (DS): 5 Secrets of the Mountain This Star is exclusively added to Super Mario 64 DS, for the sixth Star. To access it, the player has to either have Mario collect a Wing Cap at the top of the mountain or make use of Hoot who can be found in a tree at the beginning of the course, but Luigi can backflip. The objective is to fly through the five Coin rings in the sky. The Star will then appear on the summit. Enemies *Big Steelies *Bob-ombs *Chuckya *Fly Guy *Fwoosh *Goombas *Monty Moles *Ukiki Statistics from Super Mario 64 *'Total Number of Coins': 137 *'Caps Found': (none) *'Spinning Heart': (none) *'Cannons': 1 *'1-Up Mushrooms' (11): **''Static Mushroom'' : #1 Behind the start point, on a narrow ledge. #2 On a ledge by the moles. #3 On the ledge just before Fwoosh. #4 Hidden behind the wall between the slide's start point, and the actual slide. #5, 6 On the slide. **''Triggered Mushroom'' : #7 Appears after walking in all the four corners of the slide start point. **''Box Mushroom'' : #8 Above one of the mushrooms with Red Coins. **''Butterfly Mushroom'' : #9 From one of the butterflies in the ground with vines near the top of the mountain. **''Monty Moles Mushroom'' : #10, 11 By continuously jumping on two sets of Moles near the wall with vine, two 1-ups will appear from each set. *'Warps' : The smallest mushroom can warp Mario to underneath the ledge with the Monty Moles near the cannon. See also *Princess Peach's Castle Courtyard Category:Mario locations